Whom do I have in heaven besides You?
And there is no one on the earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73: 25-26

For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose hearts are completely His.

--2 Chron. 16:9

Our capacity for gratitude, love, and joy

"We are now capable of a joy which unfallen spirits could not have known: the bliss of pardoned sin, the heaven of deep conscious obligation to eternal mercy. The bonds which bind redeemed ones to their God are the strongest which exist.

What a joy it will be to love the Lord more than any other of His creatures, and assuredly we shall do so. Do not think that this is an unwarrantable assertion, for I feel sure that it is the truth. Do you not read in the gospels of a woman who washed the Savior’s feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and anointed them with ointment? Did not the Savior say that she loved much because she had much forgiven? I take it that the same general principle will apply to all places, to eternity as well as to time, and therefore I believe that forgiven sinners will have a love to God and to His Christ such as cherubim and seraphim never felt; Gabriel cannot love Jesus as a forgiven man will do.

Those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb will be nearer and dearer to Him, and He will be nearer and dearer to them, than all the ministering spirits before the throne, for He took upon Him our nature and not theirs."

--Charles Spurgeon, Honey from a Lion

The Lord is enough. The Lord is more than enough. The Lord is our sufficiency.

Lord, make us pliable in Your hands. Mold and shape our lives in Your wisdom. May we not resist the ways You change our hearts and lives, knowing that Your ways are always trustworthy.

Walk with God in the cool of the evening. Carve out time to be alone with God.

This is the day that Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

--Psalm 118:24

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

--Ephesians 3:20

Such a home

"The blessed influence of loving speech day after day and month after month is impossible to estimate. It is like the falling of warm spring sunshine and rain on the garden, causing lovely flowers to spring up in every nook and corner, and filling all the air with sweet fragrance. Only beauty and gentleness of character can come from such a home."

--Rev. J.R. Miller, The Family

The beauty and the wonder

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world."

--John Burroughs

Trust in Him at all times; Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.

--Psalm 62:8

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life ... I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

--Joshua 1:5

Contentment

"Contentment, then, is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul’s enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good."

--A.W. Pink

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

--Philippians 3:8-11

"Give up on your pondering, and fall down on your knees."

--Michael Card

I bow my heart

"So I will go wherever He is calling me
I lose my life to find my life in Him
I give my all to gain the hope that never dies
I bow my heart, take up my cross, and follow Him."

--Kristyn Getty

Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?

Loss

"... God has allowed in the lives of each of us some sort of loss, the withdrawal of something we valued, in order that we may learn to offer ourselves a little more willingly, to allow the touch of death on one more thing we have clutched so tightly, and thus know fullness and freedom and joy that much sooner. We're not naturally inclined to love God and seek His Kingdom. Trouble may help to incline us--that is, it may tip us over, put some pressure on us, lean us in the right direction."

--Elisabeth Elliot

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

--Isa. 55:1–2

The best way to begin the day

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him."

--Hudson Taylor

"… it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

--C.S. Lewis

Christ alone

"Whoever is not satisfied with Christ alone, strives after something beyond absolute perfection."

--John Calvin

But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.

--1 Sam 16:7, The Message

"God's glory is at stake in your life."

--Matt Ballard

It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand ... how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? ... declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all nations ... go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every nation ... you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth ... redeemed ... out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

Because of Christ's death, I will never perish in hell. I will live with the Lord in glory forever.

Lord, we have set our sails as best as we know, in the direction of Your will, so far as we understand it. Please fill our sails with Your wind and guide and redirect us where You will.

Through Christ's blood, we have access to the throne of God. Jesus is our High Priest. He cleanses us and takes us into the Most Holy Place, God's presence.

Anna Michelle Biondi (my niece)

"Do not take up your time so much with studying your own heart as with studying Christ's heart. 'For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ!'"

--Robert Murray McCheyne

The Global Conversation

The Global Conversation - Intro October 2009 from The Global Conversation.

Publicly profess the truth about Jesus. Do not be silent. If you are ashamed of Christ in this life, He will be ashamed of you in eternity.

I would rather be a "fool" for Christ than a wise man for the world. The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, and vice versa. If you choose to live for Christ, you will not be understood by the world. The things of God are discerned through the Holy Spirit alone, not by human wisdom. Be a "fool" for Christ, or you will, in the end, be a fool for eternity.

God elects His chosen completely apart from their wills, and despite their sin. God alone is the active agent of salvation. He chooses whom He wills, and hardens whom He wills.

God is pleased when we build altars of worship to Him in remembrance of the great things He has done. Do not forget the waters He has parted for you, the battles He has fought for you, and the ways He has led you.

Lift your vision of God off the anthropomorphic, anthropocentric, idolatrous perspectives we get caught up in so easily. God is holy. God is separate. God is stunning, compelling, and terrifying. Let's not let familiarity with theology cause us to think we understand God or degrade Him to a subject of study. God is the Creator, powerful beyond compare, brilliant beyond comprehension, stunning in His beauty, and amazing in His lovingkindness.

The presence of pain does not equate in any way to the absence of God and does not imply His displeasure. God allows all His children to go through dark valleys to teach them trust and obedience.

Spoiling each other

I was just talking with a friend who was sharing how she is using an upcoming bonus to get the love of her life a special gift that she knows will really bless him. And he blesses her as well in many ways, big and small. What a beautiful picture of how a life of love is supposed to be lived, where two people almost work to outgive each other, outserve each other, outbless each other. What better kind of life could there be?

"Jesus specializes in making dead things alive and making broken things new."

--Matt Ballard

Forgiveness is letting go of all hope of a different past. It is absorbing the debt someone owes you.

"Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

--Luke 23:34

"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them."

--2 Tim 4:16